Treasury

Independent Review of the Supervision of the Co-Operative Bank 2008-13

lord bates: My honourable friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (John Glen) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.On 6 March 2018 I laid a direction before Parliament using the powers conferred by sections 77(1) and (2) and 78(5) and (6) of the Financial Services Act 2012 (“the Act”), to require that the Prudential Regulation Authority (“the PRA”) should undertake an investigation into supervision of the Co-operative Bank plc between 2008 and 2013. The direction required that the PRA appoint an independent person to undertake the review and that the review should be completed within 1 year. The PRA appointed Mr Mark Zelmer, a former Deputy Superintendent of the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Canada, and previously a senior official at the Bank of Canada, to undertake the review.The PRA presented the completed Report setting out the findings of the review to HM Treasury on 4 March 2019. In accordance with Section 82(6) of the Act I have today laid the Report before Parliament. Copies of the Report are available in the Vote Office and Printed Paper Office and as required by Section 82(2) of the Act the Report will also be published on the Government website.The Report makes detailed recommendations for the PRA and the Bank of England (“the BoE”) relating to supervisory policy and practice. The PRA and the BoE welcome the Report’s recommendations and have today published a document responding to them.https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/prudential-regulation/publication/2019/pra-and-banks-response-to-the-independent-review-of-the-co-operative-bankThe Financial Conduct Authority (“the FCA”) have also welcomed the Report. While the Report contains no formal recommendations for HM Treasury, Mr Zelmer observes that in future relevant authorities should continue to engage early and regularly on firm-specific issues where necessary. The Treasury agrees with this observation, whilst ensuring that we continue to respect the independence of the regulators.I would like to thank Mr Zelmer for his work in undertaking the review and producing this Report.


This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
HCWS1457

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Tailored Review of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy

lord ahmad of wimbledon: My Right Honourable Friend, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mark Field) has made the following written Ministerial statement:I am announcing today the publication of the recent Tailored Review of the Westminster Foundation of Democracy (WFD), an arms-length body of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO).WFD was established in 1992, with a focus on strengthening democracy in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. Since 1992, it has played an important part in delivering UK expertise on democracy and democratic institutions.The principal aims of Tailored Reviews are to ensure public bodies remain fit for purpose, are well governed and properly accountable for what they do.In conducting this Tailored Review, officials engaged with stakeholders in the UK and overseas, including across UK Government, civil society, as well as with WFD’s staff and management.The review reported in December 2018. A plan to implement the recommendations has been developed and agreed between the FCO and WFD, and will be taken forward by officials. The review found that ‘given the scale of the challenges facing democracies, the review team believe that WFD’s purpose remains as relevant and necessary today as when it was established in 1992’. The Review also contains a number of recommendations to strengthen WFDs corporate governance and its relationship with the FCO.Copies of the Review will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.



Tailored Review of the WFD
(PDF Document, 995 KB)





This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
HCWS1455

Hong Kong Six Monthly Report

lord ahmad of wimbledon: My Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Jeremy Hunt), has made the following written Ministerial statement:The latest six-monthly report on the implementation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong was published today, and is attached. It covers the period from 1 July to 31 December 2018. The report has been placed in the Library of the House. A copy is also available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website (www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-office). I commend the report to the House.



Hong Kong Six Monthly Report
(PDF Document, 764.17 KB)





This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
HCWS1454